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Inspirational design news and ideasWed, 19 Dec 2018 00:22:45 +0000en-UShourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=5.0.1https://kohler.design/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/k-icn-150x150.pngUnited States – Kohler Designfulhttps://kohler.design
3232Arts/Industry resident Risa Puno – bootcamp for artistshttps://kohler.design/risa-puno/
https://kohler.design/risa-puno/#respondTue, 04 Sep 2018 01:04:40 +0000https://kohler.design/?p=15173Interactive sculptor Risa Puno just finished her residency with the John Michael Kohler Arts Center in the Kohler factory in Wisconsin. She was one of 17 artists that had been accepted into the Arts/Industry program [Read more…]

Interactive sculptor Risa Puno just finished her residency with the John Michael Kohler Arts Center in the Kohler factory in Wisconsin. She was one of 17 artists that had been accepted into the Arts/Industry program in 2018. She stayed in the studio of the foundry from May to July to work on a couple of new projects. Risa, a hands-on installation artist with a BA from Brown University and MFA from New York University, is interested in connecting communities, challenges and struggles, and hoping to physically engage her audience with the art pieces she creates. The first six-week project at the foundry was a cast iron pan created from six skillets. She had never worked with cast iron before and soon discovered that the work was quite challenging. With the help and support of the associates working in the factory, she cast a large pan for the upcoming Connecting Communities event (organized by JMKAC) where six people from six different cultures will cook their individual food in the pan as an interactive activity. The food will eventually mix representing that we all work hard to preserve our identities while at the same time striving for unity. Attendees of the event will be able to taste the food from the common pan. The work is titled ‘One From Many’ leaning on the de facto motto of the United States ‘e Pluribus Unum’ that was abandoned in 1956. The other project Risa undertook in Wisconsin is a wall installation of brass tiles depicting stylized fingerprints of the workers at the factory – especially the many friends and colleagues that helped her learning new skills during the residency. The 7 by 4 feet hexagonal tiles ‘Associated Impressions’ show the close collaboration she had with everyone in her environment that she called ‘Bootcamp for artists’. It is a love letter from the artists to the craftsmen. Risa’s joy and incredible talent were certain things that made this particular residency memorable for all concerned.

Source: some photos are courtesy of Risa Puno.

]]>https://kohler.design/risa-puno/feed/0Arts/Industry: Ghada Amer lets women shine in brasshttps://kohler.design/arts-industry-ghada-amer-lets-women-shine-brass/
https://kohler.design/arts-industry-ghada-amer-lets-women-shine-brass/#commentsTue, 20 Feb 2018 00:17:36 +0000https://kohler.design/?p=11877Egyptian-born contemporary artist Ghada Amer was one of our recent residents of the Arts/Industry program at Kohler, Wisconsin.Ghada, a declared feminist, works and lives between Paris and New York. She spent her formative years in [Read more…]

Egyptian-born contemporary artist Ghada Amer was one of our recent residents of the Arts/Industry program at Kohler, Wisconsin.Ghada, a declared feminist, works and lives between Paris and New York. She spent her formative years in France where she attended Villa Arson in Nice to receive her degrees in art. Ghada’s interests always lay in the exploration of dichotomies of uneasy worlds: east and west, feminine and masculine, arts and craft.While she is known for her highly layered embroidered paintings where she combines canvas and needlework, she took on a new medium at Kohler. Brass was the material of choice between 15 May and 4 August 2017 when she got enamored by the shiny medium.Ghada considers herself as much a painter as a drawer, but above all, she loves to experiment. She also does not shy away from difficult subjects such as Islamic terrorism and especially the oppression of women all over the world. She is known for her explicit feminine representations pushing general culture’s boundaries. As she fought to carve into the sand to let the metal through during the residency, she voices her concerns of inequalities in a strong, quiet voice.Ghada works with her hands and uses them smartly and creatively to build depictions that are arresting and give pause – not only for feminists but for everyone to look at our world and strive for more freedom and balance.The Kohler Arts/Industry program allowed her to deepen her slab-based and flat-surface work and to bring out the drawings of women who have been with her the entire life. The body of work that she has created during the three months at the factory is a strong base for the future development of her artistic work.Until 24 February 2018, she exhibits her work together with Reza Farkhondeh at the Goodman Gallery in Cape Town, South Africa.